Labyrinth-type games of chance have been known since time immemorial and are used in recreational machines which employ a game board, in a vertical arrangement, which defines, together with a transparent front cover, a planar housing in which there is a plurality of pivots which determine a random labyrinth-type path a ball which, gaining access to the game board via the upper zone of the board, falls under gravity between said pivots until it reaches any one of the multiple lower passages or exits which, on occasion, end in channels directed toward different points while others simply have respective scores which the player incorporates into his marker in some way.
Games of this type pose a set of problems involving, basically, the following aspects: PA1 on occasion, the speed of fall of the ball, together with the latter's small dimensions, prevents the player having a completely clear view of which of the exit passages the ball has taken, giving rise to confused situations which may annoy the player if the latter believes that the machine has awarded him a score which is lower than the score corresponding to that passage which, in his opinion, has been taken by the ball; PA1 the return of the ball, from its exit via the lower part of the board until its re-entry thereto via the top part, is concealed from the player who may thus be inclined to think that the ball is projected toward the game board in a specific direction which does not promote his obtaining a high score; PA1 the mechanisms for raising the ball are located behind the game board, frequently occupying a space which is very large, in most cases greater than the thickness of the actual game board; PA1 specific, practical embodiments of labyrinth-type games also pose particular or specific problems which, although they do not exist in other embodiments, substantially reduce the performance level of this type of machine.